Refused to return to Europe! Can 24-year-old Killian Hayes still stay in the NBA?

Everyone knows that this year's offseason is very cruel.

Due to the poor environment of the free market, many young players have not found jobs so far, and some free agents may have expected their prospects in the NBA, so they chose to go to overseas leagues to make gold.

There are actually not a small number of players every year. As for this year, including Lonny Walker, Kai Jones, and Thomas Bryant, they have been confirmed or will soon join the overseas league, and they may not be able to see them in the NBA next season.

However, there are some exceptions.

There is such a European player who is deserted in the NBA free market this summer, but it has attracted the interest of many European basketball clubs including Real Madrid in La Liga, Asville in Ligue 1, Tel Aviv Maccabi in the Israeli League, and Belgrade guerrilla in the Serbian League.

It is reported that a heavyweight European team gave him a generous offer. As a result, he rejected the invitation from all European teams and insisted on staying in the NBA. For this reason, he only signed a training camp contract.

Yes, we are talking about Killian Hayes.

Reports from French media that defender Killian Hayes has been invited to participate in the Cavaliers' training camp, and he is still eager to continue his NBA journey, with the goal of winning a guaranteed contract spot in Cleveland (the Cavaliers have two places left).

Previous news, Hays attracted the interest of many European clubs, including some heavyweight teams, but the French-American defender refused. He was determined to find opportunities in the NBA rather than return to Europe.

Speaking of Hayes' situation, he was the No.7 pick in the first round of 2020, and he was definitely a high pick. The players behind him at that time included Wassell (11th pick), Halliburton (12th pick), Maxi (21st pick), Quickley (25th pick), McDaniels (28th pick), Bain (30th pick) and others. The evaluation of Hayes in the draft report is: he is 1.96 meters tall and has an arm span of 2.03 meters. He is a tall point guard and started to compete in the professional league at the age of 16. He is the fastest and most promising star in Europe. His advantage is his outstanding speed, solid skills, broad vision, and he can independently create offensive opportunities;

The disadvantage is that his explosive power and bounce are average, his right hand finishing ability is weak, and his shooting is not good, but he dares to take action, and there is a possibility of training three-pointers. At that time, he believed that Hayes' best template was Ginobili, and the worst was Dinwiddie.

Before the draft, Hayes was basically considered a 5-10 pick, so it was not surprising that he was picked off by the Pistons in the 7th pick. What was really surprising was his later development, and the speed of water drop was amazing.

In the rookie season, Hayes played 26 games for the Pistons, averaging 25.8 minutes per game, scoring 6.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 3.2 turnovers. His shooting percentage was only 35.3%, his three-point shooting percentage was 27.8%, and his real shooting percentage was 42.2%.

Generally speaking, the offensive efficiency of rookies is not very good, but it is rare to be as bad as Hayes - if you remember correctly, when ESPN's true positive and negative value RPM (ESPN has canceled this data now), Hayes should be the last or second, in short, just one word, dish.

However, at that time, Hayes was young at least. Since he was the No. 7 pick, he would be able to get a sense of possibility sooner or later. As a result, the Pistons waited for nearly three years but did not wait for his progress. His performance after the rookie season:

—2021-22 season, averaged 6.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists per game, 38.3% shooting percentage, 26.3% three-point shooting percentage, 46.1% shooting percentage, 2022-23 season, averaged 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists per game, and shot The shooting percentage is 37.7%, the three-point shooting percentage is 28.0%, the real shooting percentage is 45.5%

——In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, the shooting percentage is 41.3%, the three-point shooting percentage is 29.7%, and the real shooting percentage is 47.4%

You can see that Hayes' offensive efficiency is outrageous. During the Pistons, the three-point shooting percentage has not exceeded 30% in a year, and the real shooting percentage has not exceeded 48% in a year. So in February 2024, the Pistons announced the waiver of Hayes to end his training.

Last season, Hayes joined the Nets with an E10 contract and was later sacked to the Development League. During this period, he returned to the NBA with a short ten-day contract. His performance in the NBA and the Development League is as follows:

- 6 regular season games played for the Nets, averaging 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game, and a three-point shooting percentage of 38.1%

——In the 18 games played in the Development League, he averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was 41.7%

. At least from the data, Hayes did change, but the problem is that the Development League does not equal the NBA. Sifino can also play well in the Development League, but he still can't play in the NBA, and the Nets' sample during the period is limited, with only 6 games in total.

Objectively speaking, Hayes still has some advantages. His static talent is indeed good, and his organizational ability is outstanding, and his defensive performance is not bad. The only problem is that his offense, especially his three-point shooting, is really bad.

Last season, Nets head coach Fernandez's evaluation of Hayes is actually worth thinking about: "Hays has done a good job in sharing the ball, but I need him to play more aggressively. I hope he can shoot more three points, and I hope to see him shoot decisively.. ”

It should be said that Hayes is only 24 years old at the moment. If he can practice shooting well, he is indeed likely to stay in the NBA. And he still admires his courage. After all, he will definitely earn more money to play in Europe than to hold a training camp contract in the NBA, and the team status will definitely be higher - fight for his dream again, hoping to achieve results, otherwise, he will really see him in the future.